Category: Democracy

OVERWHELMING MANDATES : PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson is already in a celebratory mood ahead of the 2024 GE, with electoral superforecasters predicting a barnstorming victory.

“He’s employed some campaign specialists from our good friends in Belarus,” a Downing Street source said, “so the result is a foregone conclusion. Why wait? Let’s celebrate. You’ve all seen the amazing work they do over there at the ballot box. We aim to learn lessons, now that we’re a free, sovereign nation, no longer limited by the tyrannical EU.”

The lessons appear to be mostly centred on the counting of votes and the best way to add them up.

“Some say that a proper mandate for a government is in the low 60’s. It gives a veneer of respectability. But the British people are one thing, why shouldn’t they vote as an overwhelming bloc? The British People are united behind Brexit. The British People are united over the need to push refugees back into France, or the sea. The British People are a homogenous bloc. That’s democracy. One voice. One people. The people will decide to support Boris.”

But the Downing Street regime’s internal critics have raised an eyebrow over the need to bring the fix in.

“We’re already doing away with judicial review. The NCA seems more focused on the clandestine threat of people waving for help in the water,” one said, “and you don’t need a bloody electoral win in the 90’s! Just look at the last GE. 43.6% of the vote and total power. Let’s stick with FPTP.”

A STITCH IN TIME : A DOWNING STREET SOURCE HAS CONFIRMED today controversial plans to wipe clean the slate of British law.

“We want to cut all that red tape,” he said, referring to centuries of common law, and other annoying stuff.

“Ordinary Tory MPs, just going about their potatriotic business pleasing donors and working multiple jobs as consultants, are tripping over unnecessary rules and regulations.”

It’s holding the country back?

“Just so! Not least the bloody modern fad for tyrannically dictating how superior males must act towards subservient females. MPs are dropping like nine pins. It’s not on. Men are born to rule. We all know that.”

So what will you do about it? It sounds a right mess.

“We aim to rapidly transform into a kleptocracy, post Brexit, much like the one big brained genius Dominic witnessed in the former Soviet union. Not that it had any impact on him at all.”

But how the complete erasure of law and order will impact people in their daily lives isn’t completely clear. Our source has some ideas…

“We may keep eviction laws, clearly. You have to protect people’s hard earned investments. Although I would propose a lower limit on the protection. You have to have inherited the rental property portfolio, or you haven’t really earned it. Something like that.”

But won’t that just lead to a regrowth of just the kind of red tape you’re trying to do away with?

“We’ll have to be careful, that’s for certain. But I wouldn’t worry too much. Any new laws we create, after getting rid of all the old bad laws, any new laws will be created by ourselves. We’re sure to benefit. Which is the only reason any of us want to be in government.”

ALWAYS READ THE SMALL PRINT BEFORE YOU SIGN: Or before you vote. The embarrassment that is Iain Duncan Smith has finally realised that he voted for something whose devil was in the detail.

It’s taken eight months for Smith to get around to reading the Withdrawal Agreement. An Agreement he voted for with great enthusiasm at the time. And an Agreement so perfect that he voted against giving parliament extra time to examine it.

In fact the Agreement is full of little firecrackers that the broad brush Brexiters couldn’t be bothered to brush up on.

This self own will only serve to increase Smith’s already impressive unpopularity. Smith is admitting that he either did not read the Agreement, did not understand it, or did not consider its implications. Possibly all three.

In this instance, he perfectly fulfils the Brexiter stereotype. Big, impressive rhetoric connected to an absolute refusal to do the necessary work or refer to known facts.

Leavers knew what they voted for, we are told constantly. Until, like Smith, you do a cursory amount of investigation into the Brexit claims, and find the unicorn you were promised is actually a pig in a poke.

These two stances are contradictory. You either know, or you don’t. Smith is caught on the horns of a paradox, in which he simultaneously knew and didn’t know what he was voting for.

That’s Brexit, of course. A delusion married to a paradox and wrapped up in a contradiction. You can’t have your cake and eat it. In fact there is no cake at all, just a bitter pill and humble pie for afters.

You won, Iain Duncan Smith. So suck it up, get over it, and if you don’t like it you can leave. So long as you have your shiny new black French made Blue Passport and a visa to get you into Kent to get yourself onto a ferry or the Eurostar.

After all, you knew what you voted for, even if you didn’t.

PUTIN ON THE RITZ: The long awaited Russia Report is useless because it’s out of date, according to Priti Patel among others. Any delays caused by a government unwilling to release it are purely coincidental.

This is the latest attempt to deflect attention from the damning report. Nigel “Mr Irrelevant” Farage was crowing about the infamous referendum, just for a change from harassing migrants. “There was no evidence of Russian interference!” he shouted gleefully to anybody unlucky enough to be in range. “So we got away with it!”

One hopes that Mr Farage can rest a little easier these days, although he is clearly affected by an excess of bile.

Oh so Priti Patel took a different tack. “The report has gone out of date while we have been sitting on it,” she smirked. “We have since tightened up our procedures, so that there is less of a paper trail for the Intelligence and Security Committee to follow.”

To put the matter to bed, Boris Johnson has elevated Evgeny Lebedev to the House of Lords. The presence of a Russian newspaper mogul, whose father was a KGB agent, and who made a fortune from the collapse of the USSR, is entirely reassuring.

The temptation to draw a parallel between Lebedev and the vultures awaiting the collapse of the UK, if not the EU, is strong. 

It is also tempting to deduce that powerful Russian interests are paying for Brexit, so they can clean up like Lebedev did. It is hard not to conclude that the same people are paying the government to ignore the evidence of interference, and to block the actions of the security services.

Indeed the Report makes this crystal clear. “The [REDACTED] paid for [REDACTED],” reads one ***-rated passage, unambiguously. “[REDACTED] used troll farms and bots to [REDACTED], and ensure that the referendum was [REDACTED].”

Julian Lewis, who was voted chair of the Committee in place of placemat Chris Grayling, published the Report, and had the whip removed as a reward. “[REDACTED]!!” was his pithy response.

RED FLAG: the Russia Report has raised any number of red flags. Disgruntled Tory MPs, who have voted for stuff they don’t really believe in because they are shit scared of “Classic” Dom Cummings, are asking why we are so keen to sell out to Russia in the first place.

What have the Russians ever done for us, is the cry, and it’s a good question. Roughly translated, it really means “Where’s the bribe – I mean, donation – you promised me?”

But apart from bribery, what have the Russians ever done for us? Well, there’s paying the government and security services to turn a blind eye to their activities. And there’s the huge amount of money laundering business they have brought to the London Laundromat.

Then there’s the abuse of social media by the deployment of trolls and bots. The trolls need somewhere to hide which is why Boris Johnson keeps building bridges.

But apart from bribery, money laundering and social manipulation, what have the Russians ever done for us? I suppose that they are quite good at poisoning spies with Novichok, Cold War style. Then there’s the massive effort to undermine democracy to ensure Brexit happened. That put an end to the EU’s efforts to clamp down on dodgy financial dealings, which would have broken up their cosy little party.

The Russia Report describes a government which is reluctant to act, even when it has advance warning of a problem. It describes a government that ignores the evidence placed before it. It describes a government that creates confusion by dividing responsibilities between different agencies, each thinking one of the others is in charge, and reduces their staffing levels and funding. Any parallels with its handling of the Covid crisis are entirely deliberate.

So, apart from bribery, money laundering, social manipulation, poisoning spies, and undermining democracy, what have the Russians ever done for us?

Vodka. And borscht. But mainly vodka.

Social distancing matters. But, if you are Jacob Rees-Mogg, debates should be undertaken in person and not over virtual communication platforms. There’s no room for the Zoom for traditional Tories.

So for his party’s traditional summer conference, he has not booked an overpriced snooty seaside hotel and a modern conference centre with as much atmosphere as the moon. These venues are sensibly refusing to take bookings from irresponsible posh boys. Instead, they will all go to the local ‘Spoons, since everybody knows that you can’t transmit a virus in a tightly packed, sweaty pub full of noisy drunks.

In a daring move unconnected to any desire to avoid scrutiny, Rees-Mogg has booked a ‘Spoons in locked down Leicester. The former proprietors of The Hunchbacked Plantagenet were taken by surprise, as they are self isolating and trying to buy PPE from a pest control company.

The shocked bar manager of The Hunchbacked Plantagenet was desperately trying to get herself re-employed in time for the conference. “They only told me to get everything ready last night,” admitted Betty Fallsover. “The perspex screens won’t be here until Friday, but I’ve got plenty of mousetraps.”

And will there be enough to drink?

“Oh yes,” said Fallsover with a glint in her eye. “I’ve ordered five thousand bottles of the finest wine. Chateau Barnard 2020.”

Meanwhile the city council tried to milk the situation.

“This is a great honour for the city,” boasted city council publicity manager Midler Nowhere. “I would normally recommend that the delegates visit the city’s attractions, but unfortunately at the moment they are both closed.”

Why don’t you tell them what they are missing?

“Said too much already,” grumbled Midler in a low growl. “Can’t talk about work, sorry, it breaks the conditions of my furlough.”

The screen went blank.

Hundreds of reckless, entitled exceptionalists packed into a cheap pub in the middle of Plague City. What could possibly go wrong?

VALUE FOR MONEY GUARANTEED : DOWNING STREET is seeking to get ahead of the alleged ‘cash for favours’ controversy today after an interesting outing by a minister on this morning’s Today programme.

here's that remarkable Nadhim Zahawi quote from @BBCr4today in full

where he advises people how to meet Tory MPs at local party fundraisershttps://t.co/cmUZKwhkDc pic.twitter.com/GApruxPW0c

— Jim Pickard 🐋 (@PickardJE) June 25, 2020

While the comments raised concerns about the potential for corruption, supporters of Downing Street have applauded the regime for its “business as usual” transparency.

“People know the rules of the game,” a imagined spokesman for 10 Downing Street told LCD Views, “and we’re not shifting the goal posts. They’re exactly where they’ve always been. It’s just right and proper that everyone can see how the game is played. You can’t say without fear or favour. God knows there’s enough fear and favour to sink a steam ship. But who’s ever been to a football match on a cruise liner and not experienced the fear of the crowd and the haranguing of officials over perceived favouritism? Especially as the giant iceberg goes from looming upon the horizon to just beginning to scrape along the bows. Goal!!!”

And to capitalise on the new, open and transparent style of government 10 Downing Street has announced it will release a “full, comprehensive and world beating” price list for ministerial decisions by week end.

“Or the weekend, we’re still nailing down some of the details. But if you want to, say, develop some green belt but the nimbies at the local council are standing in your way, well, the price to get the pitchforks back in the sheds will be achievable for any billionaire, even ones on a budget. It’s classic, traditional Tory governance.”

In other, unrelated news, a banana will be added to the Union Jack to symbolise the direction the UK has most determinedly taken…

GIVE IT AWAY GIVE IT AWAY NOW : 23rd June 2016 is now firmly established as the day Global Britons took back control from the unaccountable, unelected bureaucrats in Brussels.

“But the people voted to take back control,” our 10 Downing Street source commented, quoting a now retired BBC4 Today programme host, “so it doesn’t matter what happens afterwards.”

What the country will do to mark the 4th anniversary isn’t clear, as no national celebration has been planned, but our in house experts have some good advice.

Suggestions for how to celebrate Brexit Day 2020 :

1. Spend the day punching yourself in the face.
2. Spend the day depriving EU27 citizens of their rights, after they were promised “nothing would change”. Be sure to feel pride in your British exceptionalism as you do, just don’t expect it to now be easy to trade with, or travel to France, Italy, Germany, Spain…well, the cost of victory is worth it, Global Britons, open to the world, betraying millions who settled in the UK legally and in good faith. We did this Global Britons, all together.
3. Spend the day punching yourself in the face.
4. Take a “Cooking With Chlorine” course.
5. Spend the day punching yourself in the face.
6. If you have several millions to spare, why not apply for a burgundy passport from a small, cash strapped EU state? Then you can laugh at poorer Brits in airport queues shelling out for visas, insurance and all the other things they’d taken for granted.
7. Spend the day punching yourself in the face.
8. Shove a massive cactus up your backside and sit down on a hard surface, then punch yourself in the face.
9. Read the Conservative Party election manifesto for the 2019 general election. This is equivalent to punching yourself in the face. Follow that up with understanding the transfer of power to Boris and chums via the legislation for exiting the EU. This will be two black eyes.
10. See suggestion No. 1. Rinse and repeat.

Once you have exhausted the list, if you’re at a loose end, and you can still see clearly, take some time to consider Dominic Cummings and who has really taken back control of the UK via Brexit.

Oh, and No. 11 – Bake a sovereignty cake and share it with your neighbours. Happy Brexit Day Global Britons. It’s time to pause and think on your achievements and what you’re going to do about them going forward.

START ON 23/06/16 AND MOVE FORWARD : FOREIGN (TO GEOGRAPHY) SECRETARY DOMINIC RAAB has addressed the matter of the long overdue Intelligence Report into Russian Interference into UK Democracy today.

“While our security correspondent has only seen Twitter takes on Dom’s tele outing this morning,” LCD Views Foreign Affairs Editor comments, “and by seen I mean the most cursory of glances, we feel confident we can make up the entire story. Laced with some facts of course, as is standard.”

And the story appears to be welcome clarification as to why the government has not yet released the report.

“Don’t listen to the explanation that it can’t be released because the Intelligence Committee hasn’t yet been reformed, following last December’s election,” our correspondent comments, “that’s clearly a load of bollocks as it’s up to Prime Minister Cummings to form the committee. Classic gaslighting of the public.”

That makes sense, although doesn’t sound much like democracy. It’s a wonder MPs put up with it? Frogs in the slow boiling pot?

“There’s also the matter that there may actually be nothing to see in the report, apart from a rather lengthy list of donations from Kremlin linked figures to the Conservatives. And given Corbyn’s former spin doctor/handler is not exactly bereft of Putin associations, maybe it’s a cross party initiative? Bloody embarrassing for all concerned? Best keep it under wraps and hope the public forget all about it? Which, given they’ll all be jobless, CV-19 wracked and in socially distanced food ration queues shortly, it’s not a bad tactic.”

But surely there’s a better explanation?

“Personally I’d go for it being pointless,” our correspondent comments, “mostly due to having an inappropriate title. Once you allow the future direction of your entire country to be decided on a criminally corrupted, advisory referendum you don’t get to call yourself a democracy. Not in any meaningful sense. Round of applause for parliament please, while we still have it.”

CROMWELL TO BE PLACED IN A FRIDGE FOR HIS OWN SAFETY : Good news today for people worried that throwing 17th Century slave traders into the sea is not British.

“Downing Street directed the Home Office to direct Dolittle and Touch to conduct a private investigation, worth £1bn, after the widely reported incident in Bristol on the weekend involving the statue of Edward Colston. That investigation has now concluded.”

During #EdwardColston's twelve year involvement with the Company in c17, it transported c 84,000 men, women and children from West Africa as slaves. The enslaved people were branded with RAC, as company property. Nearly 20k died en route, ship conditions were horrific. https://t.co/E0NX7G67vK

— Prof Kate Williams 💙 (@KateWilliamsme) June 7, 2020

During the incident anti-racism protestors removed the controversial statue of the 17th century slave trader, rolled him some distance, before dumping him into the harbour.

Get in the sea Colston!

There are now rumours that Nigel Farage has set up a gofundme to fund his personal retrieval of the statue from the sea floor, but those are yet to be confirmed.

“While there is some concern at the Home Office that Priti Patel may not be able to rule the UK with a jackboot, due to the rather curious decision of Tory governments of the last 10 years to drastically reduce police numbers, and that removing statues and turfing them into the surf is not on [if it’s slave traders, it is on], there is no scope for action towards those involved.”

However, the police chief in charge on the day won’t be getting a peerage.

“The inability to act comes after the protestors used what is now called in legal terms ‘The Cummings’ Defence’. Essentially they stated their aim was not damage to public property. Surprisingly it wasn’t even an anti-racism protest. They tore down the statue of the famous slave trader, who grew wealthy off the worst of human motivations and deeds, and threw him into the sea to….(wait for it)…test their eyes.”